By Prior Beharry
VACCINES do not cause the spread of Covid-19.
This was the statement of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Roshan Parasram when asked about the issue at the Ministry of Health virtual media conference on Saturday.
He was questioned about the claim by anti-vaxxers that there has been an upsurge and deaths due to Covid-19 since the rollout of vaccines began in April 2021.
Dr Parasram said before there were vaccines to fight the Covid-19 virus, there was an upsurge in Trinidad and Tobago in August and September 2020.
He said there was also an increase in Covid-19 cases in T&T in March 2021 with the entry of the P1 (Gamma variant) which was twice as transmissible as the original Wuhan strain of the virus.
Dr Parasram said from March to May this year, there was largely an unvaccinated population with less than one per cent taking the jab.
He added that vaccines have been proven all over the world to provide protection against infection, severe disease and deaths regarding Covid-19.
The CMO said, “The temporal relationship between the rise in cases and the increase in cases is exactly just that.
“It coincides with an increase in the different types of strains we had P1 coming in and then we had Delta coming in which was more transmissible.
“It coincides with that, (the) increase movement to people as well, and then we use the public health guidelines to slow the spread. It is an interplay with all those things.”
He said, “The vaccines have no link to increase spread of Covid-19 at this point.”
Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh held up a lead story of the Trinidad Guardian where two women who were hospitalised due Covid-19 said the vaccines saved their lives.
